Books for Pastors An early discovery upon arrival in this region is that few pastors are formally trained, and even fewer are ordained. Being a pastor here is largely an appoint-yourself vocation that, unfortunately, many persons take up as an alternative to working on farms and fishing boats. For many, the only training they received was a 6 to 12 month indoctrination in their denomination’s practices and beliefs, not studies in Biblical interpretation, Eschatology, theology or other common subjects taught in Western Bible schools and seminaries. Although it is beyond our ability to fill that gap in the training and preparation of local pastors, we do offer them books that can help in their ministries. Believe it or not, we have even encountered pastors who did not own a Bible. We also help support a local tribal pastors Bible School. We provide Bibles and other study aids courtesy of generous U.S. partners who have collected and sent commentaries, concordances, and other materials through our BOOKS FOR PASTORS program. If you know a retired minister who would be willing to share some of his resources, or a church library that occasionally “cleans house” of their battered or excess books, we would be happy to discuss with you the possibility of shipping them to us for distribution.

Tribal Outreaches We have, in the past, conducted tribal outreaches at Christmastime (plus a medical mission). These programs consisted of music performances, a Bible lesson by a tribal pastor, games for children, and food distribution to families. We hope to be able to conduct such an outreach in the future, though pandemic restrictions will keep us from doing so indefinitely.